Podcast consumption is exponentially growing in India. The Indian audience has evolved its tastes and engages with new forms of content every day. Don’t believe it? Well, a survey by PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook Report says that there is a whopping 30.4% CAGR in the monthly podcast listener base!
These indicators point to just one fact—the podcast is an emerging content format that must be optimized to rank higher through SEO. Podcast SEO isn’t a new thing. Many podcasters relied on organic traffic generation through SEO to grow their listenership. However, with Google shutting down its Google Podcasts portal, traditional podcast SEO best practices might face problems in the future.
The Rise of the Podcast Phenomenon
Let’s discuss the rise of podcasts first. Why are people interested in audio content? The on-demand entertainment option is perfect for the busy Indian audience. They can find a podcast on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts and listen anytime, anywhere. The human voice behind the microphone also creates a perfect sense of companionship with the listener. Thus, brands can leverage this intimate connection to grow their community. It is due to these reasons that audio SEO has become a growing trend.
Podcasts & Audio SEO
SEO for podcasts has become important for a few more reasons. Google’s AI tools, like Gemini, always improve their voice language models. Alexa and Siri have also made voice search quite popular for consumers. Thus, the day would not be far when Google’s crawler accurately ranks relevant podcast content. It already does so for YouTube videos.
Strategies of SEO for Podcast
You can use a few podcast SEO tips to optimize your podcast for search engines. Remember that your podcast will appear as a website on Google. Therefore, you must use website optimisation practices to rank high.
Craft Keyword-rich Metadata
You must use a meta title and meta description that uses keywords. Keywords are search-specific terms that users search in Google. While you cannot optimize directly on a website as it belongs to the streaming platform, you can use a relevant keyword in the title.
Transcribe your Audio Content
A transcription option is available on the streaming platform. You can produce a written text for the audio podcast and submit it on the platform. Try to incorporate trending and relevant content.
Use Show Notes
You can use timestamps in the description section to divide your content into snippets. Your audience will go directly to the relevant section and listen to it. You can also add links to your additional resources and businesses in show notes.
Use Audio Embedded Systems
Podcast SEO will work best when the audience spends significant time on your webpage. Google checks the authoritativeness of your content based on the time your audience spends on your website. Thus, you can include an audio option on your website to increase the average time on the page.
The SEO Ripple Effect of Podcasts
What are the benefits of all these podcast SEO measures? For the record, you will increase organic traffic on your podcast through SEO. It will lead to a ripple effect of advantages for your brand.
- More Engagement- Your audience will positively view you as an industry expert, as Google prefers to show you on the first page of search results.
- More Authority-You will get quality backlinks from trusted sources, which will up and stabilise your ranking.
- Enhanced User Experience-You can repurpose the podcast content into blogs, social media posts, and infographics. This will generate quality leads.
Additional Podcast SEO Best Practices
You can take a few additional steps to enhance your content quality. These podcastSEO tips are outside your technical measures. They are a mix of brand strategy and content strategy.
- Leverage Guest Expertise: Interview industry influencers to attract their audience and gain valuable backlinks to their websites. Their audiences will leave comments and reviews on your podcast. Thus, you will increase your user base.
- Topic Authority: Focus on topics relevant to your niche and strategically use keywords associated with your guest’s expertise. Trending topics often end up high on the SERP. You will also increase your expertise quotient in Google’s books.
Podcast SEO Tips for Different Podcast Styles
Now, podcasts can be of different types. You must use a different marketing strategy for each type of podcast. First, determine which podcast type you create and then choose appropriate measures to promote it. Here are a few examples.
Interview Podcasts
Take the example of Beerbiceps. He has raised a commendable amount of reach through his podcasts. All he does is invite guests with niche expertise. After this, his team uses all the relevant keywords and repurposes his content to reels, shorter videos, and carousels.
Solopreneur Podcasts
Ankur Warikoo is quite popular for creating solopreneur content. His podcast revolves around business ideas, marketing strategies, and motivational content. Every podcast description includes links to his mentorship workshops.
Storytelling Podcasts
Indian Noir produces engaging storytelling podcasts. You can study their engaging narrative style and transcriptions. Through these measures, they have grown a loyal following.
The Future of Podcasts & SEO
Studying the future of podcasting is critical if you want to keep your podcast alive. You can jump on these trends to produce more engaging content for your audience.
- Voice Search & AI Advancements: AI will improve its voice search capabilities. This technology will also be incorporated into search engines, presenting more relevant content.
- Interactive Podcasts & SEO: The rise of interactive podcast experiences with listener participation might influence SEO strategies. Likes, comments, polls, and audience notes will become more common.
- The Podcast Authority Advantage: Podcasters who master podcast SEO best practices will increase their discoverability.
Podcasting is a powerful tool for reaching a wide audience. It helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field. By implementing these SEO strategies, you will stay ahead of the curve. New trends like voice search and interactive features will take over. Thus, you must ensure your podcast thrives in the ever-evolving world of audio content.
